Stable 73 Overmare (Terminal Secrets)
The Stable 73 Overmare is a character in the radioplay series Terminal Secrets. Not explicitly named, she is the Overmare which features most prominently the third episode of the series, HUNGER. Biography The First Overmare The nature of the Overmare of Stable 73 was a guiding factor in the creation of experiment. The Stable was intended to be run purely democratically, where all policies are voted on by popular referendum. Politically speaking, the Overmare was intended to purely be an enforcement mechanism, carrying out the wishes of the public. For this reason, the first Overmare selected was particularly meek and weak-willed. This personality type was chosen to minimize the chances of an autocrat that would act unilaterally. She would however have the ability to appoint her successor. This would be for the benefit of the experiment as a whole, that the one selected would be trustworthy enough to hide the secret and not doom them all. The Zealous Overmare Many of the subsequent leaders would deal with the reality of their position in different ways, in most cases with compartmentalization and disassociation. However, after eugenic policies were introduced to correct for the rising deformities among the inbred population, many were impressed by the success. The forced sterilization had the effect of lowering the population numbers, freeing up more food for everyone to eat. This Overmare was among those true believers. She similarly pushed the Single Foal Policy to correct for what some saw as big families hording food. Unlike most of her predecessors, she was a very skilled orator and fostered the worst of the tendencies of those sealed inside. She would be the one to pass judgement on Kali and Thistle's parents, eventually leading to their mother's death. The Self-Medicating Overmare The Zealous Overmare wished for her accomplishments to carry on for a long time, believing that she'd be the one looked back on as the savior of the Stable. As such, she picked the most emotionally frail pony she could find to be her successor, someone who would be paralyzed in fear to change anything that she set in motion. This Overmare would be the one to feature most heavily in the episode. Upon learning the truth behind her duties, she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders and it was a responsibility and crooked morality that she couldn't handle. She began abusing sleeping pills, alcohol, narcotics, and anything else she could try to numb the psychological pain she felt constantly. As her predecessor had wished, she was too meek and fearful to try to change anything. For the most part her Stable guards just kept enforcing the policies of the Zealous Overmare. While not understanding the full nature of the experiment, the guards were quite comfortable doing anything they thought could free up more food for themselves and their families. These guards also kept forcing Thistle to carry out terminations when he was required to do so. His own psyche was suffering from this, and he would ultimately blame the Self-Medicating Overmare for her weakness. Despite this, she found herself attracted to Thistle. He was very handsome in her opinion and she would often fantasize about him like a schoolgirl crush. She would revert to a juvenile personality like this as it was one of the last parts of her life she truly enjoyed before being appointed Overmare. Things went on in this way for many years, until one night Thistle surprised her at her room. He had never hidden his contempt for her in the past, she knew that this sudden change of heart was probably part of some plan to overthrow her or something. She found herself relieved at the idea that a group was plotting to take this painful responsibility off of her shoulders. She played along to indulge in one night of pleasure with him, then stayed quiet as he accessed her terminal. Not wishing to suffer a violent death, she decided to take her own life, overdosing on sleeping pills and alcohol. She did however leave a note for Thistle, apologizing for the circumstances they were both placed in, but thanking him for one last good night. Following her death, Kali was able to take control as the new Overmare. With her force of will, she was able to change things in the Stable for the better. Quotes * "Mister Thistle, your sister has been such a big help lately. She got all of my files completely re-organized. You have been such a lifesaver!" * "I was so scared...a young thing like me being put in charge of the Stable? I couldn’t believe the Overmare trusted me... She always treated me like a ditz. But I couldn’t help it... she had chosen me... What else could I have done? ...Sometimes, we’re all forced to do something we don’t want to do. In the best case scenario they would have thought of me as a wicked, cowardly nag." * "Dear Thistle, I must say that I was surprised to find you on my doorstep last night. I didn’t know, what made you change your mind, but far be it from me to say ‘no’... I am a light sleeper though, and noticed when you got up... and what you did... I know how you felt about me, and in most ways you were right... I’m just glad I had one night to pretend we lived in a better place. It’s not like I was the one holding the Stable together anyway... Nothing is closer than family. Thank you for everything, I hope you can set things right." - Thistle (reading her note to him) Behind The Scenes * The Self-Medicating Overmare was voiced by EAST Corp Co-Founder Needle Stitch. * The Zealous Overmare was voiced (with heavy distortion) by EAST Corp Co-Founder James Vermont. Category:EAST Corp Productions Category:Terminal Secrets Category:Main Characters (Terminal Secrets)